New Blog About My Project Houses

I recently posted a question on the Home Repairs forum regarding dog urine in a house I was in the process of buying.  As I returned to the forum a few times to check on new posts and look for answers to my questions, I noticed some posts asking questions I thought I could help with.  After posting a few things I thought might be helpful to some, one of the moderators, Kristin, invited me to start a blog about the projects I am currently undertaking.  I agreed to do so, hoping my problems and solutions might be helpful in guiding and encouraging fellow DIYers in finding their own solutions.

I am currently remodeling three homes we bought during the recent market downturn in Virginia.  I was actually looking for an apartment, but found I could buy a townhouse for less than the monthly rental, so I bought a foreclosed 2000 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 full bath, 2 half-bath townhouse that was in need of some touch-up and carpet replacement.  After getting settled in the townhouse, I noticed a small Cape Cod on my way in to my real job, that had been up for sale for a long time.  It eventually dawned on me that the house was in such bad shape that no bank would lend on it.  It was well located and I figured it would make a great rental, once it was renovated.  It was a foreclosure, so I made a low cash offer that was accepted.  We then turned our attention to finding a home for our permanent residence.  Our criteria was to find a reasonable home for our needs, in the 2500-3000 square-foot range, that needed some work.  We wanted to be able to shield ourselves from the possibility of the market going lower, by earning some “sweat-equity”.  We found just what we were looking for last month.  The former owners lost it to the bank, and apparently sabotaged it by keeping as many as 30 dogs (I’m sure that’s an exaggeration, but that’s what I was told) in the house as if it were a kennel.  We were able to purchase it at about $100,000 below appraisal. The stench and filth left by the dogs was what started me on the DIY forum.

So, there are the projects.  Our objective?  We want to get the Cape Cod and the townhouse rented out to pay the mortgage on the “big house” (my son calls it the “outhouse”).  So, we have to get the Cape Cod finished and get it rented out, then get the big house ready to move into, move out of the townhouse into the big house, then finish renovations on the townhouse and get it rented out, hopefully all before Christmas ‘09.  So, most of what you will find on this blog over the next several months will be my work on the Cape Cod and the big house.  I’ll try to give detailed descriptions of the work I do and I’ll provide photos as often as practical.  Hope you enjoy it.